I don’t know why everyone’s assuming that civilization would instantly fall apart and it’d go right to being nothing but street crime and doom. Sure, it would be an extremely difficult event, but it’s not like the US government instantly is removed – we have something like 2.5 million in the military and reserves, even 5% of that (considering the rest of the population is much smaller as well) is sufficient to take and hold some significant territory. Sure, it’s a big country, but electricity and our oil reserves aren’t going to magically disappear overnight. We could expect a draft, even martial law, but complete anarchy everywhere? Doubtful.
I expect you’d see some pockets of control very early that get prioritized and maintained (e.g. in terms of the grid), and people would start flocking to those areas. There would likely be a lot of panic and violence in the interim as global commerce is nearly completely disrupted, and it’ll be a mess, but it’s not going to be instant Madd Maxx either, at least in the West.
Right now, the cemeteries are slam full of smart people. Intellect is worth bupkis. What will make that local militia consider you an asset is some skillset valuable in the post-apocalyptic economy. Medical and dental skills will be high on the list, along with the skills associated with keeping the lights on and the water running. Can you do any of that, for real, not just having read about it?
If you are attractive enough, you might be able to parley that into a full belly and a somewhat safe place to sleep.
Fact is that your average Doper, IMO, would be lucky to be taken in as a whore or bottom-of-the-social-order field worker in such a situation. We, as a group, are all about things that mean fuck-all outside of comfortable 21st century Western nations.
On the other hand, a pandemic of the sort described is going to produce a heck of a labor shortage. We are going to need all hands, and IMO can’t afford to lose anyone except those that threaten the community.
At the very least, we could use grave-diggers. Or just haul canned goods.
The Road is it’s own special brand of hell, and much different from a pandemic, for two reasons: most people survived the event and the event blocked the sun. The difference is that billions ate their way through food stores and nothing will grow. In a rapid pandemic scenario, a veritable bounty is left by comparison. The 5% won’t even be able to eat all the canned goods before the cans expire.
I’d initially expect a decent percentage of starvation among the survivors - I think 5% probably falls in the nasty survival % range where they would eat their way through the available food, but would be few enough that society would still mostly break down, screwing with food production. Drop it to .5% or less like you see in the Stand, and I agree, food and fuel are long term, not short term problems.
5% left is probably enough though, that it is possible to recreate something like early 20th century life over the long haul, if everything goes perfectly. So in a 5% scenario I’d throw in with whoever I could who would try to keep some semblence of society going.
Very thoughtful stuff. Just like The Stand though, the percentage that survives the plague has only dodged one bullet. The mortality rate for infections, sickness, broken bones, tetanus, etc goes through the roof in the aftermath. I hadn’t factored suicides or ineffectual survivors either. It wouldn’t be like every survivor is a strapping twenty-something. I would be surprised if 50% of the survivors didn’t make it the first year.
I’m not sure why you think the military would just keep on truckin’, either. After a truly cataclysmic event, I anticipate there’d be mass desertion by people who are more concerned with whether their families survived than taking care of the ruins of the country. And considering we’re losing 95% of the military, too, in this hypothetical scenario, there’s not going to be enough of a presence left to have as strong of an effect as you postulate. They would be at an advantage due to having a pre-existing structure in place, true. But for all the civvies who don’t live near an army base, we’re pretty much fucked.
Well it’s true that my skills in call center work and forum repartee aren’t of much apparent value in post-Apocalyptic America. But you still need a certain number of people manning the radios and formulating strategy behind the scenes. I believe my intellect could justify the resources I’d consume.
Again, this is all speculation as I don’t anticipate surviving the pandemic. And if I did, I’m not sure I wouldn’t just commit suicide anyway.
Scream “I told you putting so much literature into Kindle and Nooks, was a bad idea,” several times. Move into my library. Try to secure it as a fortress and go about trying to preserve as many books as possible.
Depends how much lead time you have before it all goes to hell - a kindle takes a very small amount of power and could be easily charged with anything - I have a solar/crank radio that could easily keep a kindle charged off its usb port. In some ways the kindle would be more useful than books you need to schlep around as long as you beg buy and steal every useful e-book you can think of before it gets too far.
I hope to hell my son survived it, or nothing else would matter.
Saying that he does, we’d be perfectly comfy at my cabin. Without going into a lot of detail, I’m one of those Prepper-types, and I was before it became cool. Some friends and family and I will do quite well, thank you.
I’m currently reading ‘Alas, Babylon’ by Pat Frank which details a small community in Florida in the period after a nuclear exchange. It certainly wasn’t the authors intention but the society he depicts seems fairly attractive in some ways. Not that I would willingly give up the conveniences and opportunities of contemporay life.
I’m fairly certain I would at least be able to look after myself during and after the initial apocalyptic incident, assuming my luck holds.
Extended periods of time by myself wouldn’t really bother me either but I’m not really anti-social and would attempt to find, or found, a community. My first move would be to try to reunite with my family but with the scenario above the odds aren’t good that they would have survived. I’ve already casually mapped out an initial plan for what to do in the event of the inevitable zombie apocalypse and I’m sure it could be modified as needs be for most apocalyptic scenarios.
In general I would try to be one of the people trying to help and build society back up along with like-minded people, and making a point of stopping those griefers who like to destroy and tear things down.
Ah, who am I kidding, after setting myself up as the unquestioned leader of my small community I’d probably end up starting my own personality cult, later crossing to the European mainland and seizing the decimated capitals with my army of fanatical followers (Muad’dib!), subsequently announcing myself Hegemon of the Eurasian Empire, and ultimately declaring myself a god while sinking further and further into sybaritic paranoia while terror reigns over the land before finally being overthrown on the field of single combat by the young and dashing hero of the hour.
I’d probably die soon after, what with the crazies and gun nuts and all, but before that happened I’d go and eat whatever I could get my hands on. Chocolate. Godiva, none of that Hershey’s crap now that it’s all free for the taking. And then I’d go to all the nearby toy stores and drag as many lego sets home to play with as possible. Maybe after I get bored and fat I’d go look for some surviving family and friends.
